Journeys With Meaning is a response to the 4 major disconnects we face today -- the disconnects between:
• Urban humans and Nature
• Urban humans and other human cultures
• Our minds and our hearts
• Our actions and their consequences
In 2006, Vinod Sreedhar's (the founder of JwM) experience with a devastating cloudburst in Ladakh showed him how each of these disconnects had come together to create this terrible situation. A cloudburst like this was rare enough -- that it happened in Ladakh, a high-altitude desert, was the real shocker. The traditional earth-friendly lifestyle of Ladakh didn't cause this cloudburst... this was caused by urban lifestyles and their impact on Nature. It was apparent there would only be more of these challenges if we didn’t transform, both, our thinking and our behaviour.
The information to do this was available already; what people needed to make the change was inspiration.
In 2007, Vinod Sreedhar started Journeys With Meaning with exactly this intent. Its purpose is to not only offer people nuanced perspectives on sustainability, but to also inspire them deeply to live earth-friendly lives.
Over the 10 years we've been working on this, we've realised how earth-friendly travel is one of the most beautiful ways to take us from theory to practice, from reading to experiencing, and from watching to doing. Travel then, to us, has become our primary way of learning about the world we live in.
WHAT IS JOURNEYS WITH MEANING ABOUT?
At its core, Journeys With Meaning believes in travel that transforms.
This is the kind of travel that wraps insightful ideas and perspectives around your head, shaking out the outdated ways of thinking you’ve been carrying around for years. It makes you want to hold up to the sun, every belief or assumption you’ve ever held -- about life, places and people, knowledge and wisdom, success, and yourself. When you’re looking but not really seeing, these immersive journeys thump you on the back of the head demanding that you see past the camera lens into the essence of a place, asking you to listen carefully to the ancient stories hidden within every tree and under every rock.
Over time, we’ve disconnected ourselves almost completely from these stories that Nature is trying to share with us. It’s time to change that.
WHY SHOULD THIS MATTER TO YOU?
If you're reading this, it's clear you are looking for alternatives.
• Do you find yourself dissatisfied with the noise, 'busy'ness, and aggression of the city?
• Do you want the time and space to listen to the quiet voice of your heart once again?
• Are you seeking to minimise your impact on this beautiful planet, so that you can pass on to your children what our ancestors passed on to us — an abundant planet?
As a person who cares, we know you will want to do the right thing. Here’s our invitation to you.
Reconnect once again with the most sustainable ways of living. You can travel to escape the mundane realities of life. Or you can travel to engage fully with the magical wonder that Life is. Journeys With Meaning is all about the latter kind.
Join us as we meet the people of the ‘other’ India and hear their stories. Their ways of living have worked a lot longer than ours has. Stay with them, work with them, and most importantly, learn from them.
We partner with inspiring organisations — SECMOL, the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Aaranyak, Nature Conservation Foundation — that are creating innovative solutions that work.
Food that is grown naturally and without chemicals, buildings made with natural materials and powered by the sun and wind, social entrepreneurship, transformational models of education, ethical businesses, and new economic models — these are all areas we explore and learn about on our deeply immersive journeys.
However, that’s not all.
We also ensure we have loads of fun — adventure, trekking, village homestays, river-rafting, mountain biking, watching the wildlife, earth-building, helping with the harvest, etc.
Climate breakdown and Ecocide (the mass extinction of flora and fauna driven by human activity) are not problems that can be solved by individuals — it will require community.
Join our growing tribe of participants who are returning home from our journeys, inspired to make a different set of choices about how they live. We not only travel together, we also learn together and work together on the changes we can make in our own lives and in the lives of our families, friends, and the people we work with.
JOIN OUR TRIBE
Earth-friendly journeys featuring India's most inspiring environmental & social solutions...
